Amy's Top Tips for Quilting with Rulers on a Sewing Machine

Whether it's a sewing machine, domestic machine, or sit-down long arm, if you quilt by pushing your quilt instead of moving a machine, I've got some great tips for using rulers to guide your free motion quilting.

Ruler work is a great technique for a huge range of skill levels. If you are comfortable moving your quilt under your machine, you can do ruler work.

If you're a beginner, using rulers helps you figure out the all-important "Where do I go next?" issue. Just follow the ruler. Specialty rulers can give you design options that you might not be able to create on your own.

If you're more experienced with free motion quilting, ruler work can help you develop a framework that really helps your free motion quilting shine.

These tips are garnered from over 4 years of doing ruler work on my Janome machines. I've had a good long time to try all kinds of rulers and see what works and what doesn't.

So let's get to my top tips for quilting with rulers:

First of all, it really is easier than you may think! Try it and practice.

Anything that helps you move the quilt smoothly helps with ruler work. Having the machine flush with a large, smooth surface is the best.

Arrange big quilts in a series of peaks and valleys around and under the machine. You only need it flat where you are quilting and under the ruler. The folds of the peaks and valleys act as hinges to move just the area of the quilt you are working on while letting the bulk of the quilt stay stationary. This reduces the weight of what you need to move.

DON'T do ruler work without a ruler foot! At best, you'll be extra tense trying to make sure the ruler doesn't hop over or under the foot. At worst, you'll break a needle and throw the machine out of time. Janome was the first with a ruler foot (even if I had to convince them that it could be used on a stationary machine), followed by the Westalee foot, plus a few others and now Bernina is getting ready to release its official ruler foot for its newer machines.

Make sure the ruler foot is low enough on the quilt for good stitch formation without causing drag on your project. You will likely need to change the foot height for different thickness of projects.

Wear quilting gloves! Drop your finger tips over the edge of the ruler and the grip of the gloves will help you lock the ruler in place while you move your project at the same time.

Don't shove a too thick ruler under the presser foot bar behind the foot, which is mainly an issue on low shank machines.

Given the above tip, thicker rulers are easier to control. They feel better in the hand and have more of an edge to grasp with your finger tips.

Handles and other grips can be handy. Some grips may be too tall for domestic machines though.

Use a non-slip grip product on your rulers. There are several types, but my favorite are the round silicone ones I sell in my shop. I still say the gloves are more helpful than products on the ruler, but they do help.

Don't press too hard on the ruler. Not only will it make it harder to move your quilt smoothly, but it will likely cause the ruler to slip. Trap the ruler in your gloved finger tips instead.

Basic rulers are easier to manage than specialty shapes. The more changes in direction, the harder to keep the foot along the edge and keep the pressure even to keep the ruler from slipping. For example, repeating the curve of a half circle is easier to manage than a series of clamshell shapes and results in the same design. Costs less too.

Speaking of rulers; you can get a huge range of design options with a good straight ruler and some curves in a range of sizes. My newest class is all about making great designs with basic rulers.

While one of the advantages of using rulers is to make great shapes without marking your quilt, sometimes you need to mark registration lines. Mark 'em if you need to.

Ruler work can give impressive, precise results, but can also be tediously slow. This is especially true for specialty templates made to mimic free motion designs. Some quilts need one but maybe not the other.

Related to the above tip; don't let ruler use keep you from learning and improving in free hand free motion designs. They both work beautifully together.

Want to learn more about using rulers to guide your free motion quilting? See my classes on Craftsy. That's my special instructor's affiliate link where you can get them at 50% off anytime. No need to wait for a sale.

Have questions regarding specific rulers or a ruler foot for your machine? Contact me through my website and I can answer those questions and make sure you get what you need.

If you found this post or my previous posts on ruler work useful, pin it or pass it along. After promoting and teaching quilting with rulers on sewing machines for so long, it's getting a lot of attention these days by some real big players in the quilting industry and I'd like to not fade into obscurity. It's a fabulous technique and I hope you will give it a try!

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